District 11 softball: Whitehall's win over PM East on Saturday sends Zephs to Pates

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER The District 11 softball schedule and official seeding will be announced later today. What we do know on this Sunday morning is that as league champs, these teams have clinched the top seeds in their respective classes: Pleasant Valley (4A), Bethlehem Catholic (3A) and Pen Argyl (2A). Since only the 4A classification has more than eight tournament qualifiers, it will be the only class where games will be needed before the quarterfinals. Considering the weather forecast, that's a good thing because it looks like it may take until Thursday before the rain stops. One game played on Saturday had a big bearing on the quarterfinal matchups in 4A. Whitehall beat PM East 1-0 to move past the Cardinals as the No. 5 seed. That means Whitehall will play No. 4 Emmaus on Thursday at Pates Park and PM East, now a No. 6 seed, will now travel to No. 3 Liberty. The quarterfinals will be held on Thursday, the semis on Tuesday May 29 and the championship is set for Thursday, May 31 with the state tournament to begin on Monday, June 4. The dream for all is to get to State College for the state finals on Friday, June 15. Here's a look at the matchups: Class 4A First round on Tuesday: No. 10 Nazareth (11-9) at No. 7 Stroudsburg (13-9) No. 9 Northampton (12-8) at No. 8 Easton (11-9). Thursday's Quarterfinals Northampton/Easton winner at No.1 Pleasant Valley (17-5). No. 5 Whitehall (13-7) at No. 4 Emmaus (14-6) No. 6 PM East (12-8) at No. 3 Liberty (17-4) Nazareth/Stroudsburg winner at No. 2 Parkland (17-4). Class 3A Thursday's quarterfinals No. 1 seed Bethlehem Catholic (16-6) bye into the semis. No. 7 Southern Lehigh (10-10) at No. 2 Pottsville (20-2) No. 6 Wilson (11-9) at No. 3 Saucon Valley (16-6) No. 5 Northwestern (13-8) at No. 4 Lehighton (12-8) Class 2A Thursday's quarterfinals No. 1 seed Pen Argyl (22-2) bye into the semis No. 7 Notre Dame (10-10) at No. 2 Pine Grove (21-2) No. 6 Schuylkill Haven (14-6) at No. 3 Palmerton (16-5) No. 5 Catasauqua (11-9) at No. 4 North Schuylkill (12-8)